doctors
Physician burnout is costly to both the institutions where we work and to the individual physician, too. It was originally described as a three-pronged insult characterized as depersonalization, feeling a lack of accomplishment, and emotional exhaustion.
As we burn the wick on both ends, we start to view our patients as objects and feel that all we have accomplished hasn’t amounted to much. Over the past 30 years, the term “burnout” has been the most utilized term to describe this phenomenon. And, it is obviously not a good thing.
Physician burnout surveys reveal that most of the causes have little to do with the individual person, and much more to do with the system that surrounds them. I’d argue that the number 1 cause of physician burnout is that our doctors have been stripped of their autonomy.
This is where the rub is with the term “physician burnout.” The term implies that the cause – and, therefore, the solution – is rooted in the individual rather than in the system. It misplaces the blame, and expects the wounded to figure things out on their own.
Given the issues mentioned above, a new term has come about that seems to capture a different picture. The term Moral Injury was first used in medicine by Dr. Talbot and Dr. Dean. In a field meant to provide health, physicians often feel unable to provide the help that they know the patient needs – and that they could provide if allowed.